Aluminium is a common metal nowadays, used in many different industries, and it’s found all over the world.
This metallic alloy has become a popular choice, for both commercial products and industrial machinery, due to its advantageous properties. Simmal are a company that specialises in everything related to aluminium, but where do its origins start?
The History of Aluminium
Aluminium was used in ancient history, although not as we know it today. Alum (aluminium potassium sulphate) was used as a dye fixer in Egypt thousands of years ago. Here’s a timeline of the element after this…
1807 – Humphry Davy, an English chemist, discovered that aluminium could be produced by electrolytic reduction from aluminium oxide. However, he was unsuccessful in proving this theory. There’s a reason why he knew it would work though – he practiced many experiments in electrolysis by separating and isolating metals, he wasn’t able to separate aluminium but he had learned enough about the compounds of other metals to discover that there was a new metal in the aluminium compounds. He first named the metal alumium which has evolved into aluminium. Davy did attempt to isolate the metal many times with no success before his death in 1829.
1825 – The man credited with first discovering aluminium, Hans Christian Ørsted was successful in proving Davy’s theory. He produced a tiny amount of aluminium, which was too little to perform an analysis of the metal and his process was extremely difficult to replicate. He produced the metal by heating potassium amalgam with aluminium.
1827 – A German chemist, Friedrich Woehler, attempted to finish Ørsted’s work. He produced 30 grams of aluminium powder and set about developing this even more.
1845 – Woehler was able to create small balls of solidified molten aluminium! He was able to establish many of the metal’s features including its lightness.
1854 – French chemist & technologist Henri-Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville developed a reduction process using sodium allowing the industrial production of the metal in limited quantities. Aluminium was now being produced in kilograms rather than grams. Aluminium was now entering the industrial world.
1886 – College student Charles Hall and French engineer Paul Heroult simultaneously but independently develop an inexpensive way to extract aluminium from aluminium oxide through electrolysis. They both filed patents and fought to claim ownership of the process. Heroult filed his patent 6 weeks earlier than Hall, however, Hall could prove he discovered the process earlier. Heroult filed a patent around April/May of 1886 but Hall’s sister had notes that she kept from Hall proving he made the discovery in February. The two then became friends and their invention became known as the Hall-Heroult process, allowing them to share the achievement.
1888 – Karl Bayer, an Austrian chemist, developed an improved chemical process for making aluminium oxide from bauxite – a widespread ore. The cost of aluminium tumbled by 80% from Deville’s prices due to Bayer’s invention. Aluminium used to be more valuable than gold before this – Napoleon III, the first ever President of the French Republic, served his state dinners on aluminium plates whereas rank-and-file guests were served on dishes made with gold or silver.
1900s – Nowadays
The same method used by Hall, Heroult and Bayer is used in today’s extraction of aluminium. In 1903, the first powered flight by a heavier-than-air aircraft was supported by aluminium. Wilbur and Orville Wright were struggling with the materials in the design of the Wright Flyer. The Wright’s mechanician, Charles Taylor, suggested using an alloy of aluminium and copper for their gasoline engine. The metal helped make the aircraft 20 pounds lighter, the now 180-pound engine helped the flyer take off. Aluminium became the dominant metal in aviation!
Aluminium also became commonly used in space, with NASA’s next-generation Orion space capsule being made largely out of aluminium-lithium alloy.
The first beer can made out of aluminium was produced in 1959 by Coors, before this, cans were made out of steel which left a funny taste for consumers. Bill Coors wanted a material for his cans that didn’t leave a funny taste in people’s mouths and that was recyclable due to the littering of his steel cans he’d noticed.
That’s the story of how aluminium went from a precious metal only used by leaders of high importance to being used in most beer cans today. Aluminium is malleable, has corrosion resistance, and is strong, offering an abundance of characteristics that now benefit a wide range of industries and manufacturers.
What a story.
Simmal offer high-grade aluminium extrusion products, including flat bars, round tubes, angles, and channels, to be used in a wide of industries. Browse their website today.
